


falling in love at a coffee shop

by asongforjonsa



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Ben owns a cafe, Falling In Love, Fluff, Fluff and Smut, I cannot believe how fluffy this is, Meet-Cute, Rey is a pop star, Smut, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, like so much fluff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-06
Updated: 2019-01-06
Packaged: 2019-10-05 16:29:15
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,888
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17328500
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/asongforjonsa/pseuds/asongforjonsa
Summary: Rey Johnson, aka Kira Ren, is a pop superstar who ducks into Ben Solo's cafe one day to escape photographers.***“Holy shit, you’re- You’re Kira Ren.”The woman’s face fell for half a beat before she plastered a resigned smile on.“Guilty as charged,” she said quietly. “Do you want an autograph?”“Um, that’s okay,” he replied just as quietly. “Can I get you some coffee?”Rey peered up at him with a curious look on her face. “Your house blend, please. No cream and two sugars.”Ben set about making the coffee, his heartbeat thrumming in his ears. He took several deep breaths in a futile attempt to calm himself down, all the while praying that his borderline obsession with Kira Ren and The Resistance would not bleed through and embarrass him.





	falling in love at a coffee shop

**Author's Note:**

  * For [L_awlietxoxx](https://archiveofourown.org/users/L_awlietxoxx/gifts).



> For [Margaret](https://archiveofourown.org/users/L_awlietxoxx/works)! I'm so glad you're part of our little family :) 
> 
> Title from the song ["Falling In Love At A Coffee Shop" by Landon Pigg](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=erywPdFfORE)

Ben moved slowly around his cafe, sipping his cappuccino as he closed up shop. He did not normally close - that’s what his employees were for - but a nasty flu had taken down half his staff, so he was left with the task.

He was planning what he might order for dinner when the bell over the door rang and he felt a gust of cold air rush through the cafe.

“I’m sorry, we’re about to close-” Ben stopped mid-sentence, shaken by the appearance of his would-be customer.

She had on a black baseball cap and oversized sunglasses, with a snarl on her face as she slammed the door shut behind her.

“Can you stay open just a few minutes?” she asked quietly, far from what he expected. “I just need to lay low for a second.”

Ben nodded and went to flip the “Closed” neon sign on in the window. He drew the curtain down on the door and turned back to the woman.

She took off her glasses and hat with an apologetic look on her face. Ben was struck by her beauty before realizing-

“Holy shit, you’re- You’re Kira Ren.”

The woman’s face fell for half a beat before she plastered a resigned smile on.

“Guilty as charged,” she said quietly. “Do you want an autograph?”

“Um, that’s okay,” he replied just as quietly. “Can I get you some coffee?”

Rey peered up at him with a curious look on her face. “Your house blend, please. No cream and two sugars.”

Ben set about making the coffee, his heartbeat thrumming in his ears. He took several deep breaths in a futile attempt to calm himself down, all the while praying that his borderline obsession with Kira Ren and The Resistance would not bleed through and embarrass him.

“Why did you need to duck in here?”

Rey shrugged. “I saw some photographers in my periphery, and I’ve had a long day. I figured I’d rather take a chance than deal with them.”

Ben set the coffee in front of her and smiled softly. “I’m sorry you’ve had a long day. But you’re welcome to stay as long as you’d like.”

Rey took the coffee and moved to sit on Ben’s favorite sofa. “Are you always this accommodating to celebrities?”

Ben settled across from her in a lounge chair. “Just the pretty ones,” he replied with a wink.

Rey flushed red and looked down at her coffee.

“So,” Ben started, “Where were you headed before you saw the photographers?”

Rey sipped her coffee before replying. “I was going back to my hotel after a recording session.”

“Oh, you don’t have a house in New York?”

Rey wrinkled her nose. “New York… Stresses me out. I have a house in Vermont that I bought to escape from everything, but I see only get to see it once or twice a year.”

“That’s a shame, Vermont is beautiful.”

Rey nodded eagerly. “It’s so beautiful, especially in the fall. It’s a gorgeous house, way too big for me but I love it.”

“It must be nice and quiet.”

“It is,” Rey gushed. “I love just being there by myself, taking walks in the orchard-”

“There’s an orchard?” Ben interrupted.

“Yeah,” Rey replied with a grin. “An apple orchard. It’s really small but I love having them in the fall. The gardener ships them to me wherever I am in the world so I can get my fix.”

“That’s amazing.”

Rey smiled at him warmly and sipped her coffee. She seemed much more relaxed than she had been when she burst through the door.

“I’m not going to lie, Ben,” Rey said after a moment. “I’m not used to this kind of a response when I interact with, well, normal people. I just want to thank you for that.”

Ben smiled at her with a flush on his cheeks. “Well, you’re a person just like me. Everyone should get peace and quiet and a moment to just be themselves.”

Rey snorted. “I barely even know what it’s like to be myself anymore.” She looked at the ground with sadness in her eyes, and Ben fought the urge to take her hand in his.

“I sort of know what that’s like, because of my mom,” Ben said quietly. “She was, uh, a senator for a really long time.”

Rey looked back up at him. “She was?”

“Yeah, Senator Leia -”

Rey leapt to her feet. “LEIA ORGANA SOLO?! Leia Organa Solo is your _mom_?!” she exclaimed. Her eyes sparkled with excitement.

Ben nodded with a hint of a smile tugging at his mouth. “She loves it that you guys use her as an icon for the band, she fucking hates President Snoke.”

Rey slapped her hand over her mouth and laughed. “She knows we do that?!”

Ben chuckled lightly. “Yeah, she gets a kick out of it. That’s why you haven’t gotten in trouble for using her likeness.”

“Wow.”

Ben stood and went to get a photo of him and his mom from the wall. He handed it to Rey and she grinned widely. It was from his graduation from Columbia. He was still lanky back then, before he grew his hair out and started hitting the gym four times a week.

“I’m such a huge fan of hers,” Rey said quietly.

“I think she’s a pretty big fan of yours,” Ben replied. “So am I, for the record.”

Rey looked up at him curiously. “And yet you still didn’t act like a fanboy.”

He brushed a strand of hair from her face. “Like I said, you deserve to be treated like a person.”

A jolt of electricity seemed to pass between the two of them. Ben stepped back like he’d been shocked and Rey did the same. He coughed to cover the awkwardness, and racked his brain for any random topic of conversation.

“So,” Ben stammered, “Why ‘Kira Ren’?”

Rey rolled her eyes and sat back down on the sofa. “I hate that name now,” she murmured. “Now that it’s all I’m known as. But ‘Ren’ was the street I lived on in my favorite foster home, and ‘Kira’ was their cat’s name.”

Ben smiled softly. “I have a cat, named BeeBee -”

He cut himself off as Rey’s face lit up. He had never seen a sight so lovely.

“Do you have photos?” she asked eagerly.

Ben dug out his phone and showed her his screensaver, a shot of BeeBee upside down and tucked under the covers. He opened his mouth to explain that BeeBee’s name came from the shelter he’d rescued him from, but he was rendered speechless by Rey’s reaction to his cat.

She squealed and grabbed the phone from him. “Oh my gosh, Ben, he looks just like Kira did! Could I meet him?” She stopped in her tracks, seemingly recognizing the boldness of her question.

Rey peered up at him and handed his phone back, her cheeks flushing red. “I mean, um,” she stammered, “If that’s not too presumptuous of me -”

Ben panicked silently for a moment, wondering if his place was clean enough to host anyone. His cheeks flushed in turn, but he just could not say no to the eagerness in her eyes.

“Yeah, do you want to go now?” he murmured, praying that he sounded more confident than he felt.

Rey grinned and nodded, and Ben went to turn off the lights of the shop. Rey poked her head out into the street after donning her “disguise” and motioned for him to follow her when she found the coast clear.

“I should warn you, though,” he said as he closed the door behind them, “My place isn’t anything fancy. Nothing like what you must be used to.”

“I hope you can _feel_ the eye roll happening behind my sunglasses, Ben,” she replied. Ben chuckled and offered his arm out to her, which she took happily.

He only lived two blocks from the cafe, but he noticed how Rey’s head seemed to be on a swivel the whole way - always on the lookout for a fan or paparazzo that might jump out of nowhere.

They didn’t speak for most of the walk - it was almost like Rey was nervous her voice might give herself away. Ben could not imagine how suffocating it must feel to constantly be on edge like that.

“Do you not have security or anything?”

Rey glanced up at him with a coy grin on her face. “I ditched them this morning, couldn’t take it anymore.”

Ben frowned at her. “That seems really dangerous.”

Rey shrugged, her coy grin quickly replaced with a guilty look. “I know. It’s just… it’s hard having people around you constantly, always telling you what to do. I just wanted to be free for a few minutes, and that turned into hours…”

“Should you text your manager to let them know you’re safe?”

Rey sighed dramatically. “If you insist.”

She pulled her phone out of her purse and typed out a message before turning off the ringer and shoving it back into her bag.

They arrived at his building quickly, and he escorted her to the penthouse unit. She gasped, so quietly he almost missed it, before turning to look at him. She took off her sunglasses and he could see the confusion in her eyes, the hazel orbs peering at him closely under raised eyebrows.

“Ben, what the hell?” she asked. “I thought you said it wasn’t fancy.”

Ben shrugged and motioned for her to give him her coat. He hung it up in the closet while she looked around.

“I mean, it’s not rockstar-level fancy,” he explained sheepishly. “I was lucky enough to have a lot of money waiting for me after my 25th birthday, and I thought real estate was a good way to invest it.”

Rey whistled. “It’s really nice. Pretty minimalistic, but I like it. Hey, where’s-”

She was cut off by BeeBee bounding down the hall, the little orange furball buzzing right by her to greet Ben, who picked him with a laugh before closing his eyes to relish the way the cat nuzzled his head under his chin.

Rey moved closer while they had their moment, her heart close to bursting at the sweet interaction. Ben opened his eyes and smiled at her.

“Hey BeeBee,” he murmured to the cat with a nudge. “This is my friend, Rey. Say hi!”

BeeBee lifted his head and looked curiously at Rey, who had tears in her eyes.

“God, he really looks just like Kira,” she whispered.

“Here,” Ben said, “You can hold him if you want. He’s really cuddly, which is why I adopted him.” She opened her arms and let out a breathy laugh as she gathered him up.

“Hi BeeBee,” Rey murmured. He sniffed her as she stroked the top of his head with shaky hands. “I don’t get to spend time around cats much anymore, but I’d like to be your friend if that’s alright.”

BeeBee let out a tiny meow before resting his head on her shoulder. A couple tears spilled onto her cheeks, which Ben wiped away. Another current of electricity passed from his hand to her cheek, like that moment in the cafe earlier, and neither instance could not be blamed on a static shock from cold weather. This spoke to something bigger, something neither of them understood yet.

Rey kept her eyes fixed on Ben’s while BeeBee purred against her shoulder. Ben took a step back, and desperately looked around his condo for something to discuss other than whatever tension had just manifested itself.

“Um, do you want something to eat?” he asked. His eyes finally met hers again and he silently all but begged her to let whatever that moment was pass, even for just a second.

“Sure,” she replied quietly, as if she were reluctant to break the spell the two of them were currently under.

Ben hurried over to his refrigerator and yanked it open, desperately grateful for a distraction.

“Um, I haven’t had a chance to go grocery shopping yet-”

“We could just order a pizza- What?” Ben jumped when he realized Rey had followed him to the fridge.

He shut the door and looked at her nervously. “Nothing, you just, uh, startled me,” he stammered.

Rey’s eyebrows were raised again, but BeeBee chose that moment to shift in her arms. “Hey, I’ve got you big guy,” she whispered.

“He might be hungry, it’s almost his dinner time-”

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have thrown off your evening like this,” Rey interjected. She set BeeBee down reluctantly, and started to walk towards the door.

“Rey, wait!” Ben called, jogging to catch up with her hurried strides.

He shut the door just as she pulled it open, his large frame looming over hers. She looked so tiny in that moment, so vulnerable as she gazed up at him.

“What just happened between us?” Ben finally asked after what felt like an eternity.

“I don’t know,” she whispered. “But it scared me.”

“Please stay for dinner?” Ben implored. “I’m sorry I got awkward, it scared me too.” He held out his hand and said, “Please,” once more.

Rey smiled softly at him and took his hand, allowing him to lead her back into the kitchen. She sat at the marble island, and BeeBee immediately rubbed his head up against her legs, purring happily over his new favorite person still being present.

Ben and Rey stared at each other for a moment, silently agreeing to let the awkwardness pass for now. He cleared his throat and opened a drawer, rifling through some menus before landing on a pizzeria.

“What do you want on it?” he asked absentmindedly. To Ben, there were only a few acceptable toppings on pizza: pepperoni, sausage, and mushrooms. Not pineapple. _Never_ pineapple. He had such low regard for anyone who would even consider-

“I like pineapple,” Rey replied cheerfully, “I have since I was a kid.”

Ben groaned _loudly_ , unwilling to hide his displeasure. “No, Rey, please, we’ve had such a lovely afternoon, don’t ruin it by being one of _those_ people-”

Rey burst out laughing and swatted his arm. “I _love_ pineapple on my pizza! It’s so delicious! The sweet and savory mixed together…” Ben covered his ears with his hands.

“Nope, not listening!” he said, his stubbornness rearing its ugly head. “No pineapple on _my_ pizza!”

Rey got up from her barstool and came around to poke Ben in the side. He poked her back, which hit a ticklish spot that elicited such a delightful snort and shriek from Rey, that he had to do it again.

“Ticklish are we?” Ben taunted as he continued to torment her. “I’ll have to file that away.” He put an arm around her to keep her locked in place while he tickled her sides. Rey squirmed against him, shrieking and trying (but failing) to stomp on his foot.

“Ben! Stop!” she squealed. “Uncle! I cry uncle!” She whipped around to face him, her face suddenly just inches away from his as she tried to catch her breath. Ben’s eyes seemed to go black in an instant as he realized just how close she was to him.

Ben wrapped his other arm around her, locking her against his chest as they gazed into each other’s eyes and tried to process what was happening. Neither of them would ever be able to say definitively who moved first, but Rey went up on her tiptoes and Ben bent his head to meet her.

Their lips touched tentatively at first, just a _hint_ of a kiss, before Ben pulled back and looked down at Rey. She was panting, and she fisted her hands in his shirt to keep him from pulling away completely. She gripped his shirt even harder to yank him back to her mouth, and he complied eagerly.

They collided for their second kiss, their mouths fusing together as Rey whimpered and Ben groaned against her lips. She parted her lips eagerly, accepting his tongue with a whine as he licked into her mouth. She reached up to drag her fingers through his hair, which made him groan even louder. He slid his hands down to cup her ass through her ripped black jeans before picking her up abruptly.

Rey wrapped her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck. He started to move them towards the sofa, but BeeBee started to run circles around him, meowing loudly. Rey laughed against Ben’s mouth as he cursed under his breath.

“I really should feed him,” he grumbled. Rey’s stomach growled, and he laughed loudly. “And you.” He kissed her sweetly before setting her down and going to feed the cat.

“Maybe he knew we were about to rush into something,” Rey said thoughtfully after a moment. “I… I’d like to get to know you, Ben.”

He froze in the middle of filling BeeBee’s bowl with cat food, looking up at her through the hair that had fallen in his face as he bent over.

“Really?” he asked incredulously, like he expected her to yell “Sike!” and go running from the penthouse.

She walked over and brushed the hair from his eyes, echoing the same gesture he’d done for her just a couple hours earlier.

“Really.”

**Author's Note:**

> Pineapple on pizza is amazing, don't @ me


End file.
